SGI-USA is very smart. They have literally carved up the entire USA, like a pie, all the way from regions and zones, right down to Districts, which is street level.

Their local websites also don't include the names of all the local people who do all the work.
They might have a couple of names of those who are in charge of statistics, but that's it. Just generic photos, and no names.
(like Alan Simmons, the alleged SGI-USA District men's division leader...which district?)

The SGI global cult is incredibly well organized, in a top-down military hierarchy.
Their code-word is CONSENSUS-building, which again is very clever.

Consensus = Groupthink.
It just means you have to agree to go along with the orders from the top, as if you don't, you get shunned and ostracized, and demoted. If you really don't go along, they will kick you out.
Consensus in this context means cultic groupthink.

Where do they list the names of all these SGI "leaders"?

Its also ironic how they call them "Leaders" when in fact they are the exact opposite.


____SGI-USA QUOTE_________________

Each Territory is divided into Zones, Regions, Areas, Chapters and Districts. The District is considered the front-line level of SGI-USA and is the measure of SGI-USA's health and the focus of our organizational growth. Districts may be further subdivided into Groups and Units, but the District remains the focal point...

...
CHAPTER 4: The Central Executive Committee
Article 31SGI-USA has a Central Executive Committee, which is a decision-making body whose purpose is to execute the important duties of the organization.
Article 32 The Central Executive Committee shall consist of the following:

General Director
Men's Division Leader
Youth Division Leader
Young Women's Div. Leader
East Territory MD Leader
East Territory YMD Leader
Central Territory Leader
Central Territory WD Leader
Central Territory YWD Leader
West Territory MD Leader
West Territory YMD Leader General Director Emeriti
Women's Division Leader
Young Men's Division Leader
East Territory Leader
East Territory WD Leader
East Territory YWD Leader
Central Territory MD Leader
Central Territory YMD Leader
West Territory Leader
West Territory WD Leader
West Territory YWD Leader
_____________________________



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/2010 01:56PM by The Anticult.

SGI Reform group, down to a few posts a year. [groups.yahoo.com]

SGI-USA cannot be reformed, SGI is exactly the way Ikeda wants it to be.

Dear Anticult and all:

A belated Happy New Year. How right you are that the SGI will do anything to further their interests, principally their financial interests. You can find thousands of passages condemning priests in the various SGI archives and guidances yet, in some countries where the people believe in a priestly class or where there is a long tradition of reverence for priests, you guessed it, they send in the SGI priests. I think they are called Domei priests, the corrupt ones who followed the money, or those who had a beef with their superiors in the Nichiren Shoshu, or lastly and most importantly, those who were Soka Gakkai and disciples of Ikeda who he helped and encouraged to get into the priesthood [before the split] to leverage his power and influence within the Nichiren Shoshu. The SGI speaks out of both sides of their mouth or as we say in Oklahoma, "with forked tongues". They totally misrepresent the expedient means teachings of the Lotus Sutra, converting "skillful means" into "the ends justify the means". They are so phony, it makes my blood boil.

They hate all priests except their toady priests. Many members don't even know they have priests in the Soka Gakkai but these are not real priests who desire and are satisfied with little. The former Japanese speaking leader who contacted me several weeks ago, went to a get together with an SGI leader friend and there was a Domei priest there. This priest who spoke and read many languages, when confronted with the obvious doctrinal contradiction of the SGI cult, even knowing well the teachings, could not come to admit that SGI [Ikeda] might be in error. This is further proof that the poison of the SGI brainwashing is potent and penetrates deeply.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/2010 03:09PM by Nichijew.

Quote
The Anticult

Alan Simmons is still currently posting in that Yahoo group [groups.yahoo.com] with the Yahoo username:

kenzoku2

Now to find out if "Alan Simmons" is a real person, and if he actually did enter her home.
Also, there appear to be a number of people named Alan Simmons.

By the way, it appears her home was sealed for a long time by the authorities, and she was not discovered until a long time after she passed away, with cats in the home.
So as others have said, everything would have been knocked over, so NO ONE KNOWS what the condition of the home was weeks previous when she passed away.
So on that point alone, the story by Alan Simmons kenzoku2 is complete utter NONSENSE.
Just an outrageous and disgusting fabrication, as Alan Simmons had NO KNOWLEDGE WHATSOEVER of the state of her home at the time of her death.

That being said, did he enter her home after her death?
Where is the proof? Who entered her home, and how?

Byrd signed her posts "Byrd in LA", so that would mean Alan Simmons would have to be in that area.
He appears to be an SGI person, search Google for:

"Alan Simmons" Ikeda
"Alan Simmons" SGI
"Alan Simmons" "Daisaku Ikeda"
"Alan Simmons" gakkai

Alan Simmons is a fan of: Celebrities Daisaku Ikeda
[www.facebook.com]

Anyone have an old Facebook profile connected with Daisaku Ikeda? If so, they could private message any comments made by Alan Simmons on the Ikeda facebook page.


He appears to be mentioned on a blog with lots of SGI links: (this blog might be satire, or something really strange?? Don't know if this is the same Alan Simmons)

"And I arrived together with his brand-new Nichiren Buddhist butsudan, designed by my ex-fiance, Alan Simmons"
Claire Cruise's MySpace Blog [blogs.myspace.com]



How was Alan Simmons involved in the shunning campaign against Wendy “Byrd” Ehlmann due to her online postings?
Did Alan Simmons fabricate that disgusting propaganda story to win points with SGI-USA?
The truth is going to come out.

Hey Anticult,

I haven't post in a long time but wanted to let you know that Alan Simmons is a real person in LA, and that is him on the Facebook page you've linked to. I've only met him a couple of times in the late 90s and early 00s, but he is a good friend with my very close friend Steve, a still-practicing SGI member. Simmon's must be in his 50s now, an Englishman, a video camera or production guy in the industry, or at least used to be. He is probably a district leader by now, but that's no big deal since there are hundreds of districts in the LA area (usually 30-50 people). Heck, I was a district leader, too, before I quit in 2008. It would be quite easy to find out the name of his district by just calling the LA Friendship Center and inquire although it may take a little bit of cleverness since the volunteers on the phone may not know right off the bat if his district is not based out of the Friendship Center's geographic area (central LA city itself) but in another area in the LA region. My friend Steve would know, although I'm not as close to Steve now since I quit SGI although to his credit, he has not judged me for quitting, as Steve himself has issues with the SGI-USA.

I also went to same law school with Wendy "Byrd" Ehlmann at Southwestern University School of Law although she graduated a couple years behind me. A visit to the California Bar's website easily shows she became an attorney in CA in 1998 although they don't list details like schools for a deceased member. She was also a very good friend with Steve and I met her through him. She was a very intellectual woman, very nice, extremely tall, and did look like Big Bird from Sesame Street! After I graduated, however, I really didn't keep in touch with her and only heard about her through the years through Steve.

Regarding the postings above on Simmons and Byrd, I don't know what the truth of that story is. There could be more than one person posting under the name Alan Simmons on other groups or forums but I suspect not. I don't know the circumstances of Byrd's death, and don't know what Simmons' involvement was. Just thought I could clarify the aspect that these two people are real, and that someone on this forum has actually met both of them.

Mav



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/2010 03:23PM by Mav.

Can anyone else add anything regarding SGI priests?
If thats true, I know that would surprise a few people I know, maybe even (finally) get them thinking that is not as it seems...

Quote
wayfarerfree
Can anyone else add anything regarding SGI priests?
If thats true, I know that would surprise a few people I know, maybe even (finally) get them thinking that is not as it seems...

Wayfarerfree, your wish is my command! :-) Yes, as Nichijew says, there were Nichiren Shoshu priests who decided to side with SGI -- and ended up working for SGI.

If anyone is interested in this topic, check out this link:

[www.sokaspirit.com]. html

In February 1992, seven Nichiren Shoshu priests publicly resigned from Nichiren Shoshu and declared their support of SGI: Gun'ei Kudo, of the Los Angeles Temple, and six priests from Japanese temples: Shojun Ohashi, Kodo Yoshikawa, Takido Ikeda, Yubin Kushioka, Yushio Yoshikawa, and Yuho Miyagawa. They were later joined by Yugu Nanta.

In March 1992, ten Nichiren Shoshu priests wrote a scathing letter to the Nichiren Shoshu High Priest, Nikken Abe, criticizing him, and declaring their support for SGI. They called themselves Association of Youthful Priests Dedicated to the Reformation of Nichiren Shoshu: Yusei Sugawara, Yuiko Doi, Yusei Hashimoto, Yuehoko Okazaki, Yuno (or Yumo) Matsuoko, Yuetsu Watanabe, Hoki Ohtsuka, Yuno Ohtsuka, Yuzo Uematsu, and Yuzai Yamaguchi.

The Soka Spirit website has posted interviews with these priests and letters that they've written to Nikken.

I remember hearing about this back in the 1990's -- of course, it was a great public-relations coup for SGI. I've heard that some of these priests now work for SGI -- mostly in Asia, where there are other sects of Buddhism, run by priests and monks. SGI reasons that members in these countries will feel more comfortable dealing with Buddhist priests, since that's part of the culture over there.

Some priests, however, have made it over to the U.S.:

--------------------Beginning of Quote-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Long-Time Priest Risks All To Support Kosen-rufu
Jisai Watanabe, a member of the Association for the Reformation of Nichiren Shoshu, recently visited Los Angeles along with four other members of the association and ten leaders from the Soka Gakkai in Japan. The following is a compilation of his remarks at small group discussions, question-and-answer sessions and home visits in the Los Angeles area.

My name is Jisai Watanabe, and I am chief priest of Daikyo-ji temple in Hiratsuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture. I seceded from Taiseki-ji on October 18, 1992, having made the determination to sever all my ties with Nikken and those who blindly follow him and stand up to protect Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism together with President Ikeda and the SGI members.

At that time,[the Great Earthquake of 1923] my father, Jikai Watanabe, was a student priest at Josen-ji temple in Tokyo. When the earthquake hit, my father ran to the main Gohonzon room of the temple, tied the wooden Gohonzon on his back and ran out of the temple, pushing a cart of valuables. He had to abandon the cart, however, after it caught fire. My father had no choice but to jump into a nearby river because of the intensity of the fire.

He was forced to stay there for over twenty-four hours, where the temperature kept rising due to the fires. As a result, he later experienced many physical problems.

My father is actually the one who asked President Makiguchi and President Toda to accept the Shinto talisman during World War II. Their refusal led to their imprisonment and eventually President Makiguchi's death in prison.

Before deciding to secede from Taiseki-ji, I was worried about whether or not I would be embraced by SGI members because my father had been responsible for the Gakkai's persecution during World War II. This was one of my concerns.

The next thing I had to worry about was that my wife and I were both born to priests' families and grew up at the temple, so we knew nothing of the outside world. You have to understand that because we grew up apart from general society, for us to secede from Taiseki-ji meant to sever all ties, all relationships. We had to give up our friendships and relationships with our children and our brothers and sisters. It meant that we could not even go to our family graves to pay respects to our ancestors.

Despite the difficulties that faced us, my wife and I discussed everything we knew to be true about President Ikeda and about Nikken. We have no doubt that President Ikeda is leading Nichiren Daishonin's believers on the correct path of practice, while Nikken is diametrically opposed to the Daishonin's teachings and is misguiding believers. Simply put, President Ikeda's actions are based upon faith and Nikken's are grounded in his personal views and emotions.

Nichiren Daishonin states in the Gosho that in order to carry out his practice, one should not fear severing relationships with one's parents or immediate family. After reading about the Daishonin's spirit in the Gosho, we mustered the courage to leave Taiseki-ji. Despite my concerns, President Ikeda and the SGI members totally embraced us.

I have been away from Taiseki-ji for about one-and-a-half years. Since then I have been attending meetings in which we discuss the priesthood issue. Whenever I have an opportunity to meet with Gakkai members, I try to explain the importance of having the spirit and determination to challenge the poison within the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood. In this regard, I would like to take this opportunity to ask you to take up this task for kosen-rufu.

Next, I'd like to say something to you about Operation C, Nikken's scheme to destroy the Soka Gakkai. Because President Ikeda deeply cares about the SGI-USA members, he came to the United States in 1990. Upon returning to Japan, despite his exhaustion after the strenuous trip, he immediately went to the head temple to report to Nikken. But Nikken did not have one iota of appreciation and didn't even say "Welcome back" or "We appreciate your efforts for kosen-rufu." His behavior was completely lacking a sense of gratitude. Because it is only natural for most human beings to have a sense of appreciation, I feel that Nikken is lacking basic human decency.

Nikken thought that if he were to cut President Ikeda off from the SGI members, they would be thrown into confusion and eventually side with Nikken. That's what prompted him to conceive this scheme to disband the SGI. I feel that Nikken's scheme to destroy the SGI is insidious. It is inexcusable for him to try to dominate the precious children of the Buddha, who are fighting for kosen-rufu day and night. Even before launching Operation C, Nikken was trying to target overseas SGI members. He even tried to contact then-NSA General Director Williams through Kido Fukuda, at that time the secretary of the Overseas Bureau at the head temple.

Nikken's scheme to attract the SGI-USA to his side ended in complete failure. However, he did not give up his idea to target overseas members. Why is Nikken targeting SGI-USA members? Because he is aware of how sincerely and honestly they seek to worship the Dai-Gohonzon. Many times overseas members have made great personal sacrifices in order to travel to the head temple. In that sense, overseas members have an even stronger desire to visit the Dai-Gohonzon than Japanese members. So Nikken was trying to take advantage and entice these sincere people with an opportunity to do something they cherish.

Nikken is pretending to be a very compassionate and venerable priest, saying that because of his mercy, he will permit SGI members, in their present status and without leaving the SGI, to attend all Buddhist ceremonies such as funerals, memorial services, weddings and buying memorial tablets, as well as allowing SGI members to come to the head temple. In any case, he is trying desperately to attract the SGI to the temple in any way he can.

Please don't worry about being unable to worship the Dai-Gohonzon at this point. When you pray to the Gohonzon in your home, it is the same as praying to the Dai-Gohonzon. I remember when the previous priest, Nittatsu, visited a temple in Odawara that is close to my temple. On that occasion, he stated that the Gohonzon enshrined in your own home embodies the life Nichiren Daishonin. By chanting to the Gohonzon in your own home, it follows that you are actually praying directly to the Dai-Gohonzon.

Next, I would like to comment on the SGI conferring Gohonzon and the tradition of the 'eye-opening' ceremony. When I was an assistant priest at Myoko-ji temple in Shinagawa, Tokyo, from 1952-56, President Toda came to ask the chief priest if he would confer the Gohonzon on the Soka Gakkai members. I had never heard of a 'Gohonzon Conferral Ceremony,' because at that time Gohonzon were rarely conferred, usually in cases when Hokkeko members moved away from their families, establishing a new household or when a substantial donation was made to the temple.

The chief priest decided to comply with Mr. Toda's request. However, there were practical problems to be solved. In those days, the Gohonzon were reproduced using a wood block printing technique. We had just a limited number of unmounted Gohonzon on hand. Soon after Mr. Toda's request, some members arrived to receive the Gohonzon. However, they were not ready, because we had to send the few Gohonzon on hand to be mounted professionally. The first ceremony was held a week later and the recipients were asked to make one pledge, not the three that were familiar during later temple gojukai ceremonies.

As the membership began to grow, other temples in the area began conferring Gohonzon on the Soka Gakkai members. However, all of the Gohonzon in the various temples were not transcribed by the same high priest. For example, Myoko-ji temple, where I was assigned, reproduced and issued a Gohonzon transcribed by Nippu Shonin, the fifty-fifth high priest. Another temple in Tokyo, Jozai-ji, issued a Gohonzon transcribed by Nissho Shonin, the fifty-seventh high priest. And Hodo-in temple issued a Gohonzon transcribed by Nichio Shonin, the fifty-sixth high priest.

The chief priests of the temple issued those Gohonzon without ever sending them to the head temple to ask the high priest to perform any ceremonies, such as the 'eye-opening ceremony.'

We priests in the temples around Tokyo often encountered the problem that our supply of Gohonzon would be depleted. This being the case, as the assistant priest, I would be sent to another temple to ask if we could have some of their Gohonzon. Whenever possible, the chief priests cooperated with each other in order to provide Gohonzon to the new Soka Gakkai members. So as you can see, the members in those days had Gohonzon that were inscribed by different high priests.

In light of this, I would like to say that it seems perfectly natural to me that, just as President Toda accepted the offer of Gohonzon transcribed by former high priests of his day, President Ikeda would follow suit and accept the offer of Chief Priest Sendo Narita of Joen-ji temple, Tochigi Prefecture, to make it possible for Soka Gakkai members to receive okatagi Gohonzon based on Nichikan Shonin's Gohonzon [originally inscribed in 1720].

As for the 'eye-opening ceremony,' which I understand Nichiren Shoshu claims must be performed on all Gohonzon, I consider this a distorted application of the tradition that I have only rarely observed at the head temple. This Nichiren Shoshu tradition of the 'eye-opening ceremony' was actually performed -- not on Gohonzon -- but on statues and painted images of the Daishonin that were sometimes kept in temples.

When I served as an attendant to retired fifty-ninth high priest Nichiko, from 1956-57, a Hokkeko member visited the retired high priest to request that he transcribe a Gohonzon for him, making a generous monetary offer. The former high priest declined this man's request, saying that he was too busy working on his project compiling the Essential Writings of the Fuji School.

Later, however, the retired high priest commented to me that the reason he declined this Hokkeko member's request was that he would transcribe Gohonzon only for those doing shakubuku and promoting kosen-rufu.

If this 'eye-opening ceremony' were essential, the retired high priest would have had to send a Gohonzon to Taiseki-ji to have this ceremony performed before conferring it on the members. He never mentioned to me during my service to him, an 'eye-opening ceremony' or the necessity of sending transcribed Gohonzon to Taiseki-ji to have this ceremony performed.

After severing my relationship with Nikken, I did not expect the opportunity to contribute to kosen-rufu in overseas countries to arrive so soon. To tell the truth, I hate flying in airplanes. Despite that, I'm so happy to be here in the United States to encourage the SGI members to summon forth the determination to reveal Nikken's duplicity, protect the SGI movement and promote worldwide kosen-rufu. Because of President Ikeda's wonderful encouragement, my wife and I are very energized.

My wife has started to attend Soka Gakkai discussion meetings and Nichiren Shoshu priesthood issue seminar meetings. She's been encouraging other Gakkai members to oppose Nikken and his followers. Remember, she was born into a priest's family, so she never went to Gakkai activities before. By the way, because of my wife's vigorous activities, I have often had to fix my own dinner!

Please understand the President Ikeda's heart right now is to take the most important action for kosen-rufu which is to refute Nikken's distorted views. Please have the determination and confidence that no matter what you may face, you will march on victoriously.

I'd like to ask you to courageously work for the further development of the SGI, together with me and all the SGI members throughout the world.

To conclude my speech, I really pray from the bottom of my heart for your long life and excellent health. With that I would like to conclude my presentation. Thank you very much.

(Seikyo Times, March 1994, No.392, p.20-25) © 1994 by World Tribune Press, Soka Gakkai International - USA
-------------------------End of Quote--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, of course SGI gladly took Reverend Watanabe in, despite his father's actions during the war. It was great face, great PR for SGI, having this priest, who was also the son and son-in-law of Taiseki-ji priests, going around speaking for SGI and praising Ikeda! As well as a great ego boost for Ikeda, having a former priest working for him, flattering him -- and dependent upon him. Mr. Watanabe was a priest, who'd spent his whole life at the temple. Once he cut his ties with Nichiren Shoshu -- what else was he going to do, but work for another Buddhist organization? What other skills or connections did he have?

Gee, Nikken didn't even say "Welcome back!" when Ikeda returned to Japan. Is THAT why the Nichiren Shoshu/SGI split happened? If Nikken had given Ikeda a welcome back party, could the split have been avoided?

This interview also reminds me of how SGI flip-flops on doctrine:

When I joined SGI in the 1980's, SGI was part of Nichiren Shoshu. We were constantly urged to go make that pilgrimage to Japan, to chant to the Dai-Gohonzon at Taiseki-ji, the head temple! Of course, after the split, it was "No, no, just chant to your own Gohonzon, that's all you need!" And now, there are even rumors that the Dai-Gohonzon is a forgery anyway?

I had no idea that there were so many different Gohonzons in Nichiren Shoshu -- I thought it was all the same one! Apparently not! When I joined, I was given a "Nikken-inscribed" Gohonzon, or so I was told. Who knows, it could have been...or from what Rev. Watanabe says, it could have been a copy of a Gohonzon inscribed by another high priest. Anyway, I chanted to it for years, and life was basically good, with ups and downs. After the split my leaders urged me to exchange it for a Nichikan Gohonzon, or my life was going to go to hell in a handbasket. Being gullible, I did. Aesthetically, I liked my new Nichikan Gohonzon better. It was a bit bigger and brighter. And life continues to be basically good, with ups and downs.

Do people need to have the eye-opening ceremony done for the Gohonzon? I've heard so many different things on this one, I'm not even sure. I don't know if my Gohonzon has had one. Given my experience with SGI, I think that I needed to have my eyes open --not my Gohonzon!

And hopefully, Rev. Watanabe has learned to cook since his wife is so busy with SGI activities. Perhaps he can work for one of those Benihana restaurants if SGI kicks him to the curb.


.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/03/2010 12:41AM by tsukimoto.

And from our friends at www.sgi-usa.org/

----------Beginning of Quote------------------------------------------------------------------

WHY DID THE SGI DECIDE TO ISSUE THE GOHONZON?

Member Resources | Resources and Tools | Temple Issue

In 1991, Nichiren Shoshu announced its refusal to confer the Gohonzon to any person belonging to the SGI. From this point on, all new SGI members throughout the world were forced to practice without it.
Clearly, the temple's intention was to entice SGI members to leave the organization and become direct followers of the temple. While most SGI members waiting to receive the Gohonzon saw through this ploy, their seeking spirit to receive the Gohonzon remained. Soka Gakkai leaders grappled with how to respond to the members.

Then, in 1993, the SGI agreed to a proposal from Sendo Narita, the chief priest of Joen-ji, a temple in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, which had severed its ties to Nikken and Taiseki-ji. The SGI, in conjunction with Mr. Narita, announced it would start issuing Gohonzon to its membership worldwide. These would be reproduced from a Gohonzon at Joen-ji transcribed in 1720 by Nichikan, the twenty-sixth high priest of Taiseki-ji. Those who had practiced without the Gohonzon were overjoyed at the news.
---------------------------------End of Quote--------------------------------------------------------------------------

So Joen-ji would be SGI's temple. They must have needed money pretty badly after breaking with Nichiren Shoshu.

The Shoshinkai priests are another interesting piece of Nichiren Shoshu and SGI's tangled, conflicted past. It certainly differs from anything I heard in SGI. Nobody ever told us that Ikeda had been forced to step down back in the 1970's. I learned about this from a temple member -- my SGI leaders were furious when I raised the question at a meeting. I'm surprised that I was not kicked out on the spot!

It's interesting that the Shoshinkai priests started out opposing SGI and supporting Nichiren Shoshu. Then, after Nikken became the high priest in 1979 -- the Shoshinkai suddenly began opposing Nichiren Shoshu! By the eighties, both Nikken and Ikeda hated the Shoshinkai -- it was probably the only thing that both men ever agreed on!

"The Shoshinkai know that Nikken was a legitimate high priest." Ha! Really, there is no way that ANYBODY could know that! Nikken SAID that the previous high priest, Nittatsu Hosoi, told him that he would be Nittatsu's successor. Conveniently, there was nothing in writing, and no witnesses to this alleged conversation.

And where have we heard this story before? www.culthelpinfo also had a story about how President Toda had asked a group of SGI leaders to vote for the next SGI president. Later Ikeda insisted that Toda had asked Ikeda to be his successor on this deathbed. And again, nothing in writing and no witnesses!

It makes me think that the Shoshinkai priests were really the sharpest knives in this drawer. They saw early on that both Ikeda and Nikken were power-hungry fakers.


This article is from Wikipedia:

-------------------Beginning of Quote---------------------------------------------------------------------

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (December 2007)

The Shōshinkai (正信会: "correct faith association") is a Japanese Buddhist group formed in July 1980 by over 200 Nichiren Shoshu priests and their followers who were critical of the Soka Gakkai.

For several years during the 1970s, the Soka Gakkai undertook a number of activities and propagated several notions that many in the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood and laity saw as gradually increasing deviations from traditional Nichiren Shoshu doctrine. As these incompatibilities grew, more and more Soka Gakkai members began to quit the lay organization and associate themselves directly with local temples, and many priests began to openly encourage them to do so.

Eventually sentiment within the priesthood and traditional lay organizations grew so strong that a split became imminent, and, at a special leaders meeting held at Nichiren Shoshu Head Temple Taiseki-ji on November 7, 1978, Soka Gakkai's leadership apologized to the priesthood and promised to correct the incompatibilities and never deviate from Nichiren Shoshu doctrine again. On April 24, 1979, Soka Gakkai's President Daisaku Ikeda stepped down to take responsibility for the incident.

At the 40th General Meeting of the Soka Gakkai on May 3, 1979, the contemporary high priest, 66th High Priest Nittatsu Hosoi, declared his decision to accept the organization's apology and forgive the matter on condition that Soka Gakkai observe its promise to uphold Nichiren Shoshu doctrine. Separately, he instructed priests to stop open criticism of Soka Gakkai and to cease encouraging Soka Gakkai members to affiliate themselves directly with the temples.

On July 22, 1979, High Priest Nittatsu died and was succeeded by 67th High Priest Nikken Abe. High Priest Nikken made clear that he intended to carry on with his predecessor's policy of giving Soka Gakkai a chance to redeem itself. But the priests who later formed the Shoshinkai disagreed, claiming Soka Gakkai had only taken its deviations underground. They continued their campaign of criticism and formed Shoshinkai to organize their efforts into a movement. Despite repeated admonitions from the Nichiren Shoshu leadership to cease and desist, Shoshinkai went ahead with a major rally on August 24, 1980.For this defiance, the Nichiren Shoshu leadership punished a number of priests for their involvement, including five excommunications.

In retaliation, the priests of the Shoshinkai on December 13, 1980, sent a document to High Priest Nikken casting doubt on the legitimacy of his assumption of post. They then filed suit with a local court on January 21, 1981, demanding that the court annul High Priest Nikken's status on the ground that he had not been named successor by High Priest Nittatsu.

Because negation of the high priest's position and role is considered in Nichiren Shoshu an act of heresy and a manifestation of loss of faith, the Nichiren Shoshu leadership demanded that the Shoshinkai priests retract their assertion or face excommunication, and began excommunicating priests who refused. In the end, High Priest Nikken excommunicated over 200 priests. Many of these priests also sued for reinstatement, but the courts rejected all claims (including the petition for annulment of High Priest Nikken's status) as internal matters to be resolved internally.

Though Shoshinkai continues its anti-Soka Gakkai and anti-High Priest Nikken activities, even accepting new acolytes into the priesthood and conferring initiation ceremonies for new believers, it has lost momentum over the past decade. Most Shoshinkai priests continued living in their Nichiren Shoshu temples, but many of these have reverted to Nichiren Shoshu as their occupants have died or been ordered by the courts to vacate. Several Shoshinkai priests have also reverted to Nichiren Shoshu, and a number of men who joined the priesthood through Shoshinkai have converted to Nichiren Shoshu as well.

On the other hand, several Shoshinkai priests have initiated ties with other Nichiren schools, particularly the Nichiren Shu headquartered at Kuon-ji on Mt. Minobu—a usual direction for a Nichiren Shoshu offshoot. Shoshikai has also opened a research center called Kofu Danjo (興風談所) that has spawned some interest-gathering books that have attracted attention from other Nichiren-Buddhist organizations for their scholarly content.

Most recently, a number of Shoshinkai priests have admitted to knowing that High Priest Nittatsu had, in fact, passed the Heritage of the Law to High Priest Nikken; i.e., that High Priest Nikken's status is legitimate.
-----------------------------End of Quote---------------------------------------------------------------------



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/03/2010 01:22AM by tsukimoto.

Mav,

The clarification of the identity is very helpful. There are many links with an Alan Simmons in video production, so he is going to have to be accountable for the SGI "horror stories" he is running around and telling about people who are no longer alive to defend themselves.

Just reading some of Byrds blog, shows she was very intelligent and well-spoken, and one can be certain that "Alan Simmons" would not have gotten away with that while she had her blog up.

The point of looking into this, is to see how SGI-USA operates on the local level, with people who speak out. This is not an isolated case, its just a case that happens to have written information that can be looked into.

There are even more disturbing aspects to this.
On her blog, Wendy "Byrd" Ehlmann mentioned that the SGI people were contacting her, and bugging her, due to her speaking her own thoughts about SGI in her blog.
This is what she said on Jul 14, 2008.
___________________________________
[www.fraughtwithperil.com]
[www.fraughtwithperil.com]
It's a Blog, Guys!
I was really looking forward to an SGI-USA women's division pot luck this past Sunday. ...
I was startled, therefore, to receive a telephone call on Saturday night at about 8:00 from a woman's division leader who was "assigned" to my district about a year and a half ago. She informed me that she and a men's division leader wanted to come by to my home immediately in order to chant with me and "have a talk."

I declined their request to drop by, and asked what it was that they wanted to talk about.
__________________________________

So some new SGI women's leader, assigned from the SGI-USA higher-ups, calls her up out of the blue, and kicks her out of the SGI social events, obviously as a tactic to hurt her relationships, and to get her to close down her blog.
Worse, this leader said she wanted to come to her home with a man from SGI (was that Alan Simmons?), so they could try to run the SGI psychological persuasion tactics on her.

Then in print, Wendy DECLINED their request to enter her home. She said NO.

Then after she passed, you have Alan Simmons claiming he entered her home?
How can Alan Simmons enter her home many weeks after she died, when her LAST communication on the issue, she stated very clearly she did NOT want the SGI "leaders" in her home?

That has to be illegal, not just immoral.
Did the SGI members persuade the Office Administrator at the Co-Op where she lived to enter her home? That doesn't make any sense, as the police were in control of the scene, and then it would be released to next of kin. You cannot open up the home of deceased people to be rummaged around in by random people.

Wendy stated she did NOT want the SGI people in her home.

So which is it? Did Alan Simmons (possibly illegally) enter the home of Wendy after her passing, and against her written wishes?
Or did he just fabricate the entire story, to try to earn an SGI cookie and pat on the head from SGI-USA?

The evidence looks like Alan Simmons just confabulated the entire "story", like his other obvious confabulations.
Since Alan Simmons has been in SGI for 25 years, and is "bragging" about being a Division "leader", and trying to brag about the SGI bigshots he's known, he clearly wants to try to move up in the SGI-USA organization.

What most likely happened is that since Wendy "Byrd" Ehlmann was so intelligent and such a good writer, her intelligent blog hit the radar screen of the SGI-USA head office.
And there were many Ex-SGI people posting comments there as well.

So the order came down from SGI-USA head ofice to get her blog shut-down.
The first tactics SGI will try is local harrassment of the person, coercion, and personal pressure.
Then, they find her SGI longterm friends, and try to SHUN her and cut her off from all the SGI social activities, to try and stop the speaking out. Byrd did admit those tactics depressed her and she was bummed out on the July 16 blog post, where she saiys SGI was kicking her out for saying things about Ikeda on the internet. SGI kicked her out for her blog, as actual Free Speech is forbidden in the SGI-USA cult. [www.fraughtwithperil.com]
And check-out the SGI by-laws, the people who were kicking her out of SGI were from the head office of SGI-USA, that's not just the local yahoos doing that.

What would have happened next? What happened to Lisa Jones, SGI-USA would have gone after her with some trumped up legal threats. The thing is, if she had not passed away, one gets the sense that Byrd would not have backed down from writing what she wanted to write.

So the point of this, is to look at how SGI-USA really operates.
They are aware of any blog by any SGI member, and if they don't like it, SGI will come down on your head. They will pressure you, call you, harrass you. They will try to take away all your SGI friends. They will kick you out of SGI.
They will threaten you with legal action, they will do anything to silence you.

And then you have SGI propagandists like Alan Simmons.
Long-term "true believers" who want to move up in SGI-USA, who brag about being a Division "leader", when in fact they are just doing SGI's work for them for no pay.
But the ambitious guys like Alan Simmons, they want to get in on the SGI scare tactics too. They want to play some of the SGI mind-games.
The problem is, they are amateurs, and they run around made crude and disgusting remarks about someone after they have passed away, and its obvious to anyone who reads it.

The local SGI members can be irritating, always trying to get people to join SGI.
But the level to really start to watch out for, and the SGI division "leaders" and above that level. SGI-USA selects from those people, the kind of people who will do what they are told. They become the SGI-USA local hatchet-men and hatchet-women, who keep people in line, and keep the money flowing in.

There are many SGI people like Alan Simmons running around on the local level.
He should be ashamed of himself for trying to start such disgusting "stories" from circulating about someone. Is he ashamed of himself, or proud of his "stories" and smear tactics?

But that is a lesson in how SGI-USA really operates. If you dare to speak up, they will go after you with guns blazing, and they will kick you out, and worse.
Even Wendy was telling them to take a chill pill and stand-down. SGI-USA must have had some meetings where they decided to target Wendy, to get her blog shut down, AT ALL COSTS. So a group of SGI maniacs started calling her, and contacting her, and its overwhelming.
That is the American version of the stalking and severe SGI harrassment one hears about in Japan.

That is very common in these sects and cults like SGI. If you try to speak out, they will try to silence you. And when you are intelligent, and have a blog that people are reading, they will pull out all the stops, and come at you from all sides.

The only reason there are no SGI promoters and attackers in this forum, is they know that there is nothing they can do. The forum's free speech is protected, and they know the SGI propaganda techniques and SGI-lies won't work either. So the SGI-USA head office can't do anything about this forum, unlike an independent blog of an SGI member.

The more in looks into SGI and SGI-USA and Ikeda, the worse it gets.
Below for reference, is a cross-post of the blog post by Wendy, in case it gets "disappeared" from the internet.

Please carefully read what she has written. It proves that SGI-USA contacts SGI bloggers, and has them submit their blogs to SGI-USA first to be "approved" before they are published. Think about that. That is what they were trying to do to Wendy, and of course, being an American, she refused. The fact that SGI-USA is trying to completely control the writings of their members, shows what an extreme sect/cult they are.

She also mentions the person who was going to censor...uh...approve of her writing was a criminal prosecutor. Who in that area is an SGI member, who is also a prosecutor?
Think of how they were trying to intimidate her, and others. SGI-USA, tries to force bloggers who belong to SGI, to submit their writings to an employed criminal prosecutor.
That is getting extremely serious.

And below, she also clearly states SGI-USA were threatening her with legal action...

QUOTE: "I also hope that the SGI-USA leadership will seriously consider that since the SGI's Mentor Daisaku Ikeda is the founder of a university here in the United States, a documented campaign by the SGI-USA to enforce reverence for him by prosecuting blogsites might not make him look too good.."

She also made it clear she would fight back, and tell everyone what SGI-USA was trying to do to her.

Notice below, Wendy clearly repeats..."I will not, however, open my home to people who are coming there to restrict what I believe to be my rights..."

This is getting even worse and more serious when you look into it.
SGI-USA is using a local SGI person who happens to be a criminal prosecutor, to totally control the blogs of SGI members.
Notice earlier in this thread it was said that SGI controls all so-called non-SGI blogs and websites in the USA. They do that using the technique described by Wendy, they censor it BEFORE its published.
So SGI-USA is literally like Goebbels, who also believed in Free Speech, as long as he approved of what was written first. (that is sarcasm)
SGI-USA obviously totally controls all of the main so-called "unofficial" blogs and websites about SGI, using that same method.


Wendy said very clearly several time the SGI people are NOT ALLOWED IN HER HOME.

And Alan Simmons, and SGI division "leader" says he entered her home, did he break the law? Entering her home certainly violated her written wishes, and her rights.
And to post such vile disgusting lies violates not only human rights, but human decency.

If Wendy "Byrd" Ehlmann had not passed away, SGI-USA would have gone at her just like Lisa Jones, the difference here is Wendy said she was not going to back down due to the SGI-USA threats against her.

Did Alan Simmons enter her home, against her written instructions, and possibly illegally?
Or did he just fabricate the entire story for SGI-USA propaganda and revenge against an "enemy" of SGI?
Which is it?

QUOTES from Wendy "Byrd" Ehlmann:

"I also prefer not to submit my writing to the supervision of anyone who is employed as a criminal prosecutor. I'm just uncomfortable with anyone who puts people in jail (or to death) for a living "cracking down" on dissident speech in his or her spare time."

..."I will not, however, open my home to people who are coming there to restrict what I believe to be my rights..."



_______________________________
[www.fraughtwithperil.com]
July 14, 2008
It's a Blog, Guys!

I was really looking forward to an SGI-USA women's division pot luck this past Sunday. I was going to get my usual stuffed grape leaves from the local Armenian deli, hitch a ride with a dear friend, and enjoy chanting and interacting with the women's division members of my SGI-USA Chapter. The potluck, entitled " Myoho and Munchies" was to be held at the home of a woman I've known for over 20 years, and whom I knew professionally for several years before either one of us joined the SGI. The hostess and I have never been on anything but good terms, and I was looking forward to this activity all week.

I was startled, therefore, to receive a telephone call on Saturday night at about 8:00 from a woman's division leader who was "assigned" to my district about a year and a half ago. She informed me that she and a men's division leader wanted to come by to my home immediately in order to chant with me and "have a talk."

I declined their request to drop by, and asked what it was that they wanted to talk about. Although I took some notes, the content of the "message" was rather jumbled. I asked if we could discuss the matter the next day at the activity, but was told in no uncertain terms that I was being made persona non grata at my friend's home the next day, as a reaction to the contents of this blog.

"No!" I was told me sternly in response to my request to discuss the issues the next day at the potluck. "You are not welcome!"

"Was a vote taken on this?" I asked

"Well...uh...yeah!" she replied. There was a hesitant gap between the "uh" and the "yeah", so I'm not actually sure who the jury was on this vote. I was too startled to press the issue of whether or not the hostess had been consulted on the issue of who was and who was not "welcome" in her home. Of course, if I had been invited to my own trial, I would have made the following,obvious point:

Fer cryin' out loud, guys! Chill out! It's a freakin' blog! Do you know how many blogs there are out there? Like, about fifty gazillion. I'm not promoting this page on Larry King, I'm not taking out ads in the LA Times, I'm not doing anything but but writing out my thoughts, guys. Take a chill pill. Get a grip.

As far as I was able to make out, the grounds for my being banned from activities with my church of 24 years are as follows:

1. I have written of Soka Gakkai International President Daisaku Ikeda in an irreverent fashion, sometimes referring to him by the common online moniker "PI" (for "President Ikeda"), and I have failed to embrace the SGI's current focus on the Mentor/Disciple relationship, specifically as it requires the adoption of Daisaku Ikeda as a Mentor in Life.

I admit that both of these points are true. However, as I pointed out to my caller, I have never been anything but polite and well-mannered at SGI meetings. I asked my caller whether she could name a single instance where I had comported myself at an SGI activity with anything but good manners. Had I contradicted any speakers? "Promoted" any other denominations to any member in our district or chapter, to her knowledge? Denigrated PI to the membership of the district, or to any guest? This provoked the outraged second charge:

2. My completely faultless, cheerful good manners at SGI activities has been "incredibly deceitful"

Apparently, if I were honest about my true identity as an enemy of the SGI, I would be barging about the Community Center Gohonzon room, bellowing obscenities, flecking the guests with sputum, and singeing the eyebrows of an amazed leadership with the match-lit blasts of my streaming garlic-farts. Instead, I have behaved graciously toward the guests and affectionately toward the members, even going so far as to engage in such "deceitful" conduct as:

Coming early to Buddhist memorial services in order to help set up and greet the guests;

Bringing up to 75 pieces of fried chicken at a time to pot-luck gatherings;

Attending daimoku tosos to chant for the health of cancer-stricken members, adults and children alike;

And other, similar examples of "deceitful", secretly harbored ill-will towards the SGI and its members too numerous to list.

There were a few other offenses hurled at me (including the always-problematic issue of my tone), but one of the most important appeared to be:

3. I have failed to "talk to my leaders" about the issues discussed on this page before posting my opinions. In other words, I have failed to submit my speech to an implied censorship process (at least that is as clear as I can be about the charge - if the leaders who want to be "talked to" before I post can clarify this complaint, I would be most grateful).

Actually, I acknowledged this potential issue in my very first post on this site.

"Have you ever talked to your leaders about these things?" The caller sharply demanded.

"Well, yeah. I just talked to (some leaders) a month or so ago," I pointed out.

"Yes, but they had to call you!" came the retort.

Huh. Apparently, chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to the Gohonzon is supposed to result in some sort of naturally occurring Buddha insight that I'm not competent to express my own thoughts and observations about my religious community without submitting my ideas to an intellectual supervisor first. Actually, I did enjoy that earlier meeting quite a lot, much more than I enjoyed last Saturday's phone call. Interestingly, that other leader also characterized my good manners at SGI activities as "duplicitous," a problem which I attempted to address in another entry.

I will try to answer this "why don' t I talk to my leaders before writing" question in brief by saying that I don't have any real reason to talk to my "leaders" and not talk to the general membership. Since I have essentially vowed not to "disturb the unity and faith" of the general membership, I don't raise unauthorized issues with them, and there is really no logical reason (other than a purely arbitrary administrative hierarchy) why I should be discussing with people "up the line" and not "down the line". I don't have any reason to believe that the people up the line are better informed, more intelligent, stronger Buddhist practitioners, or anything else. They're certainly not my elected or chosen representatives. So, since I am effectively restrained from initiating discussions of non-SGI books, denominations, and interpretations of Buddhism with the general membership, I am identically restrained from initiating such conversations with the leadership. Unless someone can prove to me that SGI leaders, (athough generally wonderful, hard-working volunteers), are any better-read, better-informed, more articulate, or more intelligent than the general membership, I have no reason to prefer their opinion over that of the "little guys".

I will talk about this issue more at a later date.

But for now, here is my current dilemma: I am trying to hit an August 8 deadline for a screenplay writing contest. This whole issue of whether or not my writing has rendered me persona non grata in my church is tending to be a bit of a distraction for me, and I'm sure the SGI wouldn't want to sabotage their memberships' pursuit of their dreams. Even deceitful, evil people like me. Therefore, I am going to continue on behaving as though Saturday evening's bizarre telephone conversation did not occur. I will attend the same activities I have always attended (such as district discussion meetings, etc.) and will comport myself courteously. I look forward (as always) to seeing my friends and chanting with them.

I also hope that the SGI-USA leadership will seriously consider that since the SGI's Mentor Daisaku Ikeda is the founder of a university here in the United States, a documented campaign by the SGI-USA to enforce reverence for him by prosecuting blogsites might not make him look too good, particularly since we spend so much time promoting his work as an international advocate of human rights. Remember, guys....that's all it this is...a blog.

If anyone wishes to contact me to discuss any matter, they can certainly give me a call. I will not, however, open my home to people who are coming there to restrict what I believe to be my rights, however "heartfelt" and "sincere" their tone may be in doing so. I also prefer not to submit my writing to the supervision of anyone who is employed as a criminal prosecutor. I'm just uncomfortable with anyone who puts people in jail (or to death) for a living "cracking down" on dissident speech in his or her spare time. It's a power thing, and I hope you can all work with me on that. Otherwise, I am always available for a coffee at McDonald's, where we can discuss these bizarre matters under the happy eye of a real clown.

Stay happy, stay enlightened, stay cool - Byrd in LA

P.S. If you really feel angry with me, and don't know what else to do except crack down on my blog, the Buddha did leave a remedy for the painful emotion of anger: lovingkindness. It's really a great antidote.

Posted by wahzoh at July 14, 2008 02:05 PM
___________________________________________



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/03/2010 02:41AM by The Anticult.

SGI-USA told Wendy that she would have to submit her blogs to an SGI-USA person who was employed as a criminal prosecutor. It appears that Wendy did not know if that was a male/female, so she may not have known who the person was, unless that appears elsewhere in her blog. (post that if you find it).

Frankly, Wendy seemed to have noticed this was a scare tactic by SGI-USA.

Most likely, SGI-USA borrowed that severe scare tactic from the main SGI. SGI tells people they have a "criminal prosecutor" working for them, and in many countries that is someone to FEAR, as they can literally destroy your life, or even end it, as Wendy referred to.

QUOTE: "anyone who puts people in jail (or to death) for a living.."

So in certain countries, do you want someone who could lay a charge that carries the death penalty to "pre-approve" your blog?

That is a very very extreme censorship tactic by SGI-USA, to the level of psychological terrorism. That would scare the hell out of almost any person, except perhaps another lawyer.

Who here would want an SGI loyalist who is a criminal prosecutor to pre-approve of your blog postings and forum comments?
That is literally an attempt at extreme psychological terrorism by SGI-USA.

Now of course, there does not have to even be an SGI-USA member who is a criminal prosecutor, it can just be the main SGI propagandist at SGI-USA.
Its function is as a psychological scare-tactic, even a terror-tactic for censorship.

Wendy saw that right away, and refused to submit, as she was an attorney in CA herself. She seemed to sense SGI was just trying to scare her.

But for an average person, that would scare the shit out of them, as intended.
And in a 3rd world country, that is literally a potentialy lethal threat by the SGI.

What SGI is saying, in a 3rd world country, is that if you criticize SGI, a criminal prosecutor who is SGI, could wreck your life, even end your life with a charge.
That is the implicit fear tactic. That one must have come out of Japan, where SGI does have all sorts of people embedded in positions of power, and where people do FEAR SGI, and should fear them. SGI is very dangerous in that context.

So SGI tells people that a criminal prosecutor is watching you.
In the USA, its usually enough to threaten a frivolous civil lawsuit. But that is not enough for SGI-USA. They want people to think that a CRIMINAL PROSECUTOR is watching everything they write.
Its a psychological terror tactic, to create self-censorship out of fear.

And its identical to how in Japan, SGI literally has people followed.
How would you feel if you were being followed around by threatening strangers?
Or if you believed every word you wrote was being watched by a criminal prosecutor?

Its the psychology of not just fear, but extreme fear, even psychological warfare tactics being done by SGI, to create self-censorship.

SGI-USA are the masters of psycholigical fear tactics, and even psychological terror tactics, as well as extreme superstitions, and outright lies and fabrications.
SGI-USA is one of the worst groups out there, really a horrendous organization, as one moves into the SGI head office.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/03/2010 03:15AM by The Anticult.